Basketball Game Preview: Hawthorne Bears vs. Hawthorne Christian Defenders

The Hawthorne Bears will venture away from home to challenge the Hawthorne Christian Defenders at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

Last Wednesday, Hawthorne came up short against Glen Rock and fell 58-47. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey basketball rankings (they are ranked 253rd, while the Panthers are ranked 77th).

Meanwhile, Hawthorne Christian hadn't done well against Eastern Christian recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Hawthorne Christian came out on top against Eastern Christian by a score of 32-25. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Defenders.

Hawthorne Christian's victory ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-4. As for Hawthorne, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Everything went Hawthorne's way against Hawthorne Christian in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, as Hawthorne made off with a 57-34 win. Does Hawthorne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hawthorne Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.